Monday, 26 August 2013

I'm here with a bit of an interior design post today. This is something not many people know about it, but decorating and interior design is something i've always really enjoyed and take quite a bit of pride in. I think this comes from a combination of my love of all things aesthetically pleasing and my OCD.

My first dive into the world of taking hold of the design reigns took place when I was 16, just as I was finishing off my GCSE's and had my first job; I saved for months to pay for everything I needed and completely changed my bedroom; from wallpaper-ing to uncovering and renovating a fireplace.
This isn't an excellent picture, but as I no have that bedroom, it's the best I can do!

It was with great sadness that I had to leave this bedroom behind just over a year ago when we moved house. At first I was pretty excited at the prospect of having a room that wasn't square shaped, and I was excited to have a room on it's own floor- oh how foolish I was. Whilst I do love having my own floor, I have since discovered that a room that is not square in shape only causes me to have OCD related breakdowns, and has often resulted in me frantically rearranging or re-decorating my bedroom.
I haven't got a complete photo of my bedroom to show you, because honestly, I don't really like it (for the above reason- I hate the shape of it!) Despite my efforts to make the best of a bad situation, it just doesn't sit well with me. I do have small parts that I take pride in, however, and these include the handwriting feature on my wall and my choice of wallpaper; highlighted with vinyls pinned to the wall.

As you can see, I really do take pride in adding bits of my personality to my room. I honestly can't wait until I can afford to move out, I feel like the amount of stuff I own simply does not belong in one room and I'm crying out for more space to call my own, decorate and have things sit nicely the way I would like them to.

After that long ramble, here's the main point of all of that! We'll be moving house again in a few weeks (I think) and I'm told the room is square in shape HOORAH! This has taken my mind away from how much I detest my bedroom to the excitement of re-decorating the next bedroom. For this, I have actually utilised pinterest (something I still don't fully understand) and these are just a few things I would like to use in my next bedroom.

My Pinterest board for this (is that what you call it?) is aptly called:

There are a few elements that are really important to me when decorating my bedroom;

I love books- they need to be on display. I aim to get some shelving on my walls rather than using a book case, I just think this makes better use of the space that is available!

Photographs- the walls of my bedroom kind of act as a montage of memories, this includes photographs, notes, tickets and so forth- I'd like to keep this up but by styling them in a different way (such us clipped to string) it will look less haphazard and more thought through.

Tie dye- I'm planning on keeping my walls fairly minimalist, I've since discovered that I should stop wasting my money on wallpaper (at least until I settle down in my own house) and just let the furniture and other decorations do the talking. This is where tie dye comes in. I LOVE tie dye, and as I'll be painting the walls cream, what better way to add vibrancy than with tie dye!

Dream Catchers- My dream catcher collection is modest, but it's something I'm slowly expanding on. As above, they act as an excellent way to add a bit of colour!

Chalk wall- This is something I decided I wanted about a week ago; a chalk wall. Perhaps not an entire wall, but a small piece anyway. Instead of painting quotes as I have in my current bedroom, I can use my chalk wall and change it as and when I please. I might also let me friends have a doodle on it too, maybe, perhaps.Desk- I hate my current desk, it's too tiny and it's so overcrowded. I want to get a simple white ikea desk, perhaps the Micke Desk, and I can guarantee that slight change will make my life so much easier (and calm my OCD down a bit.)

I want to start getting more white furniture, because I think they just look a bit...cleaner? Although I am in love with my bed frame, so that will be staying- even if it is dark wood. I think with the right accessories it'll be easy enough to tie in with the rest of the room.

There we have it!

You can expect an update on this in the future, perhaps with a video of the process of creating it and a post about the finished product (if all goes to plan!)

I find myself getting really caught up on these things, and when I get an idea in my mind I feel like I want to execute it straight away- it actually drives me a little insane, but I feel like by making a pinterest and making this post it's a small step in the right direction.

What do you think of posts like this?

If anybody out there is similar in the way of OCD and unsettling room shapes causing anxiety- please do let me know in the comments below! It'd be lovely to feel crazy with somebody else :)

Sunday, 25 August 2013

Last Sunday you may have seen my first skincare routine post- week 0. I set myself a new routine, and I wanted to see what the results were like after the first week. I wasn't expecting miracles, but that's the amount of time it tends to take for me to know if my skin loves/hates a product!

Firstly, I'd like to give myself a massive pat on the back because I have actually stuck to it. More than that, I like my new routine! I actually enjoy taking my make up off now, and I can hear my skin sigh with relief when I treat it to the new products.
The only difference to my original routine is the addition of Skinetica, I'm sure you've all seen plenty about the product- but I really am a massive fan of it. I started using it a few months ago, and I only stopped because I had ran out and forgotten to order some more. I finally ordered some, and they arrived on Wednesday, so I've been applying it once in the morning (before moisturising) and once at night (after applying all of my products.) As always, this has really calmed down my blemishes without irritating the rest of my skin.

My skin is still far from perfect, but after it's allergy reaction fiasco, I'm so happy with the results of these products. They've really calmed it down and helped bring it back to something that resembles health. The previous dryness of my skin has completely calmed down, and it's not at all sensitive or sore anymore.
I'm also getting into the habit of cleaning my brushes more frequently- because if I'm trying to improve every other aspect of my skincare regime, I may as well include those too!

Would you like to see an individual review of the products I've been using? Let me know!!

Tuesday, 20 August 2013

I was contacted by some lovely people from the online store, Prairie Charms, to see if I would be interested in participating in 'Project Blogger.' I jumped at the chance, because let's be honest, who can resist a nice 50% off on lovely products! I had intended to only purchase a couple of items, but I got a bit carried away- here are the goodies I chose!

I love the 'home made' look of this item, and I love it even more because you can wear it in so many different ways; necklace, bracelet, hair band or bag accessory (and I'm sure in more ways if you're a little more adventurous!) I just think this is something nice to wear with a casual outfit, I always need accessories so rather than glamming something up a bit, I can go for this!

Unfortunately the wrap bracelet is no longer available on the website, but this is another item that can be worn in more than just one way! I would happily wear it with or without the charms, but I think they add a nice bit of shine whilst still remaining simple and easy to wear.The hair ties were a nice treat that had been sent to me, in purple and in red (not pictured here.) I remember thinking how nice they looked, but didn't bother to order them. I'm so glad they were sent to me anyway as I've lived in them. They're just something nice and simple to brighten up an otherwise run of the mill ponytail, and they really do stay secure in my hair (which even normal hair bands fail to do!)

Headbands are something that I love the look of on other people, but I'm yet to get to grips with wearing them myself. I still have a lot of experimenting to do, which these are great for! Not only is the pattern beautiful and perfect for (what's left of the) summer, the headbands have a piece of wire running through them so they hold the shape, meaning you can twist them in to whatever you'd style like and they'll stay there!Despite never having worn them before, I couldn't choose just one pattern, so I opted for two!

Sunday, 18 August 2013

This is a first for me, but I thought I'd make a post on skincare routines. This has a bit of a twist to it though, as this is a new routine for me and I'll be updating over the next couple of weeks to let you know how I'm getting on with it.
There's a couple of reasons for this; I recently had a really bad reaction to a blemish cream called Quinoderm, I was fine with it for a couple of days and then my entire face became red, burnt, horribly dry and it's still recovering from this. I even have a small patch on my cheek where I think it's literally left a burnt patch.
The reason for my trying of this new cream was just to a recent break out and I found myself flitting between different products in an attempt to try and calm it down. As both of these attempts failed abysmally, I'm setting myself up with a strict routine containing products I'm pretty confident I won't react badly to.

I often feel like I'm fighting with a never-ending battle with my skin (it doesn't seem to realise that I'm no longer 13) and I refuse to believe that only high-end brands can work effectively; so all of these products are affordable, high street brands!

If you're curious about my skin type, here's a quick run down;
I have incredibly sensitive skin (allergic to most things,) prone to acne (particularly in the chin area,) open pores and currently my skin is still very dry from the recent reaction- it's usually normal/combination.

Morning Routine

I will be using these products every morning; cleansing, moisturising and then applying 'Perfect' Blur. These products aren't particularly new to me, but I'll be using them in a different way.

I've been using this for a while now, and I know that as a rule of thumb, Simple products are inoffensive towards my skin. I like this simply because it feels like it really is cleaning my skin without leaving it dry or tight.

Ayuuri Moisturising Indian Rose Face Cream

This has been my go-to moisturiser for such a long time, it's incredibly soothing although it's not the greatest at actually moisturising. I'm simply sticking with this because my skin doesn't react badly to this; and my only other moisturiser of choice (Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Cream) is a bit too pricey for me to afford at the moment. I usually use this every morning and night, but for now I'll be sticking with using it every morning before applying the 'Perfect Blur' cream.

This is a fairly new addition to my make up routine, and though I'm still undecided as to how effective the 'perfect blur' aspect is, I love how light weight and softening this is. It's the perfect base for my concealer and foundation.

Night Time Routine

These products are all new to me, so this really is where the test begins. I'll admit this, and you can all tell me off, I'm awful when it comes to taking off my make-up. I do remove it every night, but I'm ashamed to say it is through the use of face wipes; which is blogging has taught me anything, it's the biggest no-no in the book. Well, I'm ready to change my ways. This is where I'm hoping to see improvement. I'll be using these products every night, and no face wipes will be allowed (apart from the removal of stubborn mascara!)

This is the product that will be guiding me into the world of NO FACE WIPES. I hope it doesn't disappoint. I didn't look into reviews for this, which is quite rare for me, but the packaging called out to me. I was drawn to the 'brightening' aspect of this as I've been feeling really run-down recently and I think this is starting to show in my overall complexion.

This one speaks for itself, I'm not usually a fan of using lotions to remove my eye make up as it just seems to create more mess (/takes more time, and I'm lazy.) This might change my ways! As above, the brightening aspect appeals to me because I'm not too fond of the ghoul look I've been sporting recently.

I'll be honest, I was a sucker for the bottle and 'traditional' aspect of it, as there's likely to be loads of chemicals involved. The fact that it also acts as a toner and moisturiser appeals to the laziness in me! Also, it smells divine!

Weekly Routine

These products aren't new to my collection, however I'll be more structured in my use of them.

I'll be using the exfoliator mid-week (wednesday evening) and the face mask at the end of the week (sunday evening.)

The back of this bottle says to use this every morning and night, but to me (and for my skin type) this seems way over the top and is likely to only damage my skin. I know 'faster is better' is their tag line, but I've only ever found disasters when trying to find a quick fix to a blemish. I'll simply be using this to keep my pores clear.

Thursday, 8 August 2013

Some of you may have seen my previous post featuring photographs that I had taken on my first outing with my Diana F+ Lomography camera. Well, the time has come for more photo shares. These aren't great by any measures, and it took me a while to get through the films (I don't get to see much day light in my daily life, by the time I have free time the sun is already setting and I don't have a flash on my camera,) but I still love the idea of using a film camera. It adds that special something and you never know what the results will be like!

This was taken so long ago, I went for a walk one evening with a friend couldn't resist going for a climb on some (packaged up) hay bales! The sun was setting, hence the darkness of the photo.

Just a little bit of Oxford, the weather was lovely that day!

Penguins basking in the sunshine <3

I went to a wild life park and was followed by a Peacock, we became great pals.

Amsterdam, oh how I miss you <3

More Amsterdam, I miss the days of wondering around and stopping off for a coffee as and when we pleased.

Dam Square

Water Tower... boring structure but I quite like the look of it.

There's a just a small selection there. I can't wait to get my hands on some different film, I love the surprise results you get with a lomo camera. I'm no photographer, but I do love my dreamer cam!